Crosscut Ventures
Santa Monica seed-stage venture firm founded in 2008 — among LA's longest-standing seed funds. Invests $1M–$3.5M in frontier tech: energy transition, space economy, defense systems, advanced manufacturing, and robotics. Public materials cite $300M+ committed across five funds.
Typical check size
$250K-$3M (stage-based estimate)
Founded
2008
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
AUM
$300M+ (indicative)
Rounds they lead
Seed
Rounds they invest
Pre-Seed
Seed
Series A
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FAQs about Crosscut Ventures
Stage fit, check size, thesis, and how founders typically approach this firm — based on public sources and our directory.
Crosscut is seed-first — typically $1M–$3.5M initial checks with potential follow-on into Series A for winners. Not a growth-equity or Series B lead shop.
Frontier and deep tech aligned with LA's hard-tech cluster: clean energy, decarbonization, space commercialization, defense modernization, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and supply-chain reshoring.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA (3110 Main St), with a Venice office and Seattle presence. 'Los Angeles' is the correct metro label for city-hub matching.
Upfront is LA's broad early-stage generalist (consumer, SaaS, healthcare). Crosscut is seed-stage frontier/deep tech — better fit for South Bay aerospace, climate hardware, and defense-adjacent founders than proptech or games.
Rick Smith, Brian Garrett, and Brett Brewer launched Crosscut in 2008 to plant a local seed flag before LA's hard-tech wave matured. Brewer departed in 2025; Smith and Garrett remain active.
Bring a physical-product or infrastructure thesis with credible technical founders. Crosscut emphasizes research-driven sector picks and a venture-partner network (operators, former intelligence professionals) — not lifestyle apps.